By kate on November 12th, 2009

Steve and I would like to share some sad news: we are separating. For almost two months, we’ve been doing a trial separation while (mostly) staying in our house, staying in separate rooms and switching off weekends as we figured everything out. At this point, it looks pretty certain that we’re headed apart, and we’re now talking about how to make that transition in the best way possible. Kate will be moving into a new place towards the end of November, and Steve will stay in the house for the time being. Ruby will split her time between us.

Although this has been a very difficult period for us, we’ve discovered that it’s helpful to be open about our situation. Sharing the story with our friends has rewarded us with a lot of support and interesting stories, and deepened some of our friendships. We believe people should talk about these subjects more often, and we’d be willing to share more details with you (or hear your own story) over a cup of tea or pint of beer.

It’s a natural inclination at a time like this for friends to tend to take sides. We’d like to strongly discourage you from doing this. Both of us are working very hard to maintain a strong friendship through this separation, and neither of us is looking to win points by rallying our friends to our cause. Don’t be worried about inviting us both to the same event; we still very much enjoy spending time together and won’t spoil your party.

Also, suffice to say that at this point our most important priority is providing a loving, nurturing path for Ruby through the transition, and we’re both fully engaged in that process.